Spatial analysis of the ancient proteome of archeological teeth using mass spectrometry imaging

Abstract

Rationale: Proteins extracted from archaeological bone and teeth are utilised for investigating the phylogeny of extinct and extant species, the biological sex and age of past individuals, as well as ancient health and physiology. However, variable preservation of proteins in archaeological materials represents a major challenge. Methods: To better understand the spatial distribution of ancient proteins preserved within teeth, we applied matrix assisted laser desorption/ionisation mass spectrometry imaging (MALDI-MSI) for the first time to bioarchaeological samples to visualise the intensity of proteins in archaeological teeth thin sections. We specifically explored the spatial distribution of four proteins (collagen type I, of which the chains alpha-1 and alpha-2, alpha-2-HS-glycoprotein, haemoglobin subunit alpha and myosin light polypeptide 6). Results: We successfully identified ancient proteins in archaeological teeth thin sections using mass spectrometry imaging. The data are available via ProteomeXchange with identifier PXD038114. However, we observed that peptides did not always follow our hypotheses for their spatial distribution, with distinct differences observed in the spatial distribution of several proteins, and occasionally between peptides of the same protein. Conclusions: While it remains unclear what causes these differences in protein intensity distribution within teeth, as revealed by MALDI-MSI in this study, we have demonstrated that MALDI-MSI can be successfully applied to mineralised bioarchaeological tissues to detect ancient peptides. In future applications, this technique could be particularly fruitful not just for understanding the preservation of proteins in a range of archaeological materials, but making informed decisions on sampling strategies and the targeting of key proteins of archaeological and biological interest.

Metadata

Item Type:	Article
Authors/Creators:	Dekker, Joannes (jan.dekker@york.ac.uk) Larson, Tony Tzvetkov, Jordan Harvey, Virginia L. https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0796-8287 Dowle, Adam Hagan, Richard Genever, Paul https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5730-8976 Schrader, Sarah Soressi, Marie Hendy, Jessica https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3718-1058
Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information:	Funding Information: The study was supported by a University of York Research Priming Fund awarded to J.H., J.D., T.L. and P.G., and a Philip Leverhulme Prize awarded to J.H by the Leverhulme Trust. We thank the Bioscience Technology Facility and Chemistry Department at the University of York for mass spectrometry access and support. The instrumentation is part of the York Centre of Excellence in Mass Spectrometry. The centre was created thanks to a major capital investment through Science City York, supported by Yorkshire Forward with funds from the Northern Way Initiative and subsequent support from EPSRC (EP/K039660/1; EP/M028127/1). M.S. is funded by the Nederlandse Organisatie voor Wetenschapellijk Onderzoek (NWO) Neandertal Legacy award (VI.C.191.07). We would also like to thank the Gemeente Arnhem and its community for the opportunity to include samples from its past inhabitants in this study. Additionally, we are grateful to the anonymous donors of the modern samples for their participation. Funding Information: The study was supported by a University of York Research Priming Fund awarded to J.H., J.D., T.L. and P.G., and a Philip Leverhulme Prize awarded to J.H by the Leverhulme Trust. We thank the Bioscience Technology Facility and Chemistry Department at the University of York for mass spectrometry access and support. The instrumentation is part of the York Centre of Excellence in Mass Spectrometry. The centre was created thanks to a major capital investment through Science City York, supported by Yorkshire Forward with funds from the Northern Way Initiative and subsequent support from EPSRC (EP/K039660/1; EP/M028127/1). M.S. is funded by the Nederlandse Organisatie voor Wetenschapellijk Onderzoek (NWO) Neandertal Legacy award (VI.C.191.07). We would also like to thank the Gemeente Arnhem and its community for the opportunity to include samples from its past inhabitants in this study. Additionally, we are grateful to the anonymous donors of the modern samples for their participation. Publisher Copyright: © 2023 The Authors. Rapid Communications in Mass Spectrometry published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
Dates:	Published: 30 April 2023 Published (online): 19 February 2023 Accepted: 29 January 2023
Institution:	The University of York
Academic Units:	The University of York > Faculty of Arts and Humanities (York) > Archaeology (York) The University of York > Faculty of Sciences (York) > Centre for Immunology and Infection (CII) (York) The University of York > Faculty of Sciences (York) > Biology (York) The University of York > Faculty of Sciences (York) > Chemistry (York)
Depositing User:	Pure (York)
Date Deposited:	05 Apr 2023 07:50
Last Modified:	22 Jan 2025 00:21
Published Version:	https://doi.org/10.1002/rcm.9486
Status:	Published
Refereed:	Yes
Identification Number:	10.1002/rcm.9486
Related URLs:	http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?...
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID):	oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:198026

Download

Published Version

Filename: Rapid_Comm_Mass_Spectrometry_2023_Dekker_Spatial_analysis_of_the_ancient_proteome_of_archeological_teeth_using_mass.pdf

Description: Rapid Comm Mass Spectrometry - 2023 - Dekker - Spatial analysis of the ancient proteome of archeological teeth using mass

Licence: CC-BY 2.5

CLICK TO DOWNLOAD

[thumbnail of Rapid Comm Mass Spectrometry - 2023 - Dekker - Spatial analysis of the ancient proteome of archeological teeth using mass]

CORE (COnnecting REpositories)

Spatial analysis of the ancient proteome of archeological teeth using mass spectrometry imaging

Abstract

Metadata

Download

Published Version

Export

Statistics